This is the time of year when many people are busy making New Year’s resolutions. While it’s certainly a good idea to make yours about self-improvement, it might also be worth considering making one that benefits the ones you love the most.
Just one way to do that is with life insurance to protect your loved ones. It may not be the most exciting resolution you’ve ever made, but it may be the most important. One person who understands that is Kiristen Draughn.
Kiristen is a young woman who says that her mom, M’Linda, is her role model: a strong independent woman who always wants the best for her children. That hasn’t been easy, though. Kiristen’s dad, Kenneth, died in a boating accident when she was just 4. On that fateful day, this young family’s world was turned upside down.
“My two-parent, two-income household was no more,” says Kiristen. “In the blink of an eye, my brothers, sisters and I were fatherless and being raised by a grieving single mother with a modest income.” While M’Linda and Kenneth had talked about getting life insurance, they never followed through. As M’Linda says, “We thought we had a lifetime to do that.”
It didn’t take long for the financial hardship to reach their day-to-day life. They found themselves forced to move to a place with less expensive rent. And Kiristen remembers a lot of hot dog dinners because it was all they could afford some weeks.
Over the years, Kiristen has studied hard and is excited to go to college with the hopes of becoming a doctor. Given that the family has lived paycheck to paycheck, it’s been tough to save for college. “Even though something devastating happened, it’s not going to stop me from achieving my dreams,” says Kiristen, who works after-school jobs to save money.
As she has gotten older and her mom has shared more about the financial struggles they faced, Kiristen now understands that “life insurance would have given my family stability. It not only gives you peace of mind, it provides for your loved ones after you are gone.” M’Linda echoes that sentiment with this advice to other young families: “Don’t wait to get life insurance. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed.”
Resolve to give your family peace of mind in 2017 by making sure you have the proper life insurance coverage. Talk to an insurance professional like an Erie Insurance agent to learn more and get a quote.